Native American lectures give insights on Lewis and Clark

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Representatives from six Northwest American Indian tribes will be featured in “Sovereign to Sovereign: Northwest Indian Nations and Lewis and Clark,” a new lecture series sponsored by Washington State University Vancouver, the Center for Columbia River History, the Oregon Historical Society and the National Park Service.

All lectures are free and open to the public.

The series begins Oct. 26 when Cheryle Kennedy, chair of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, presents “Like a Phoenix: Termination and Restoration of the Grand Ronde Tribes.” The event begins at 5:45 p.m. at the WSU Vancouver lecture hall in room 110 of the Student Services Building.

The campus is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave., east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205. Parking rules are enforced Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Parking is available at parking meters or in the blue lot for $2.

Subsequent lectures are also planned.

Carol Craig, public information manager, Yakama Nation Fisheries Program, will present “Treaty Rights and the Columbia River Fishery: Destruction and Restoration” at noon Nov. 9 in the WSU Vancouver Multimedia Classroom Building, Room 6.

Gary Johnson, chairman, Chinook Indian Tribe, will discuss “Tribal Status and Tribal Identity: The Chinook Quest for Federal Recognition” at 7 p.m. Nov. 28 at the Vancouver Community Library, located at 1007 East Mill Plain Blvd.

Allen Pinkham, former tribal chairman, Nez Perce Tribe, will present “Sovereign to Sovereign: The Nez Perce and Lewis and Clark” at 7 p.m. Nov. 29 in the Water Resources Building, 4600 S.E. Columbia Way, Vancouver National Historic Reserve, in Vancouver.

Bobbie Conner, director, Tamastslikt Cultural Institute for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, will present “It is All Connected: Lewis and Clark, the 1855 Treaty, Our Ancestors and Our Future” at 7 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Oregon Historical Society, 1200 S.W. Park Ave., in Portland, Ore.

A discussion by Louis Pitt, government liaison for the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, will be scheduled at a later date.

The “Sovereign to Sovereign” lecture series takes its name from WSU Vancouver professor Jackie Peterson’s history documentary, which debuted in September at the Vancouver National Historic Reserve. A professor of history whose research focuses on Native American studies, Peterson is the writer, producer and co-director of the film, which describes the social and political significance of Lewis and Clark to American Indian cultures.